Rescuing the classics: saving traditional music from extinction

Khse Diew artist performs a traditional song in the CLA studio. (Mathew Wakem/Phnom Penh Post)

Friday, 20 January 2012
Diana Montaño
The Phnom Penh Post

Some of Cambodia’s most renowned musical masters will gather this year to create a recording of musical forms in danger of being lost, as part of the “Documentation of Three Khmer Musical Traditions” project spearheaded by the local NGO Cambodian Living Arts.

The project, funded by a grant from the US Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation, will create audio-visual documentation of three traditional forms: Kantaoming, classical funeral music; classical wedding music; and Smote, a unique combination of poetry and chanting performed in Buddhist ceremonies, particularly funerals.

Cambodian Living Arts was founded in 1998 as the Cambodian Masters Performers Program with the mission of rescuing and reviving artistic traditions virtually wiped out during the Khmer Rouge era. The organisation has worked to bring together living masters of traditional Khmer arts to create recordings and performances, and teach younger artists.

Chrieng Broeun in Oddor Meanc​hey

Dear All,

Currently, I have worked together with Ta Hai and his band in Phum Krasang, Oddor Meanchey. I hope to help him set up a small class to teach Chrieng Broeun to youth and children. Only his group found alive in Oddor Meanchey or even in Cambodia.

Chrieng Broeun, Ta Hai at Phum Krasang, Oddormeanchey, Cambodia:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7mx9Y8gOc4

Below is the video on Kandrim or Kantrim:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Hmbs1vcfhA

This video has been made by Arn Chorn Pond, Seima and Young Yorn.
--
"Rights in education also means the right to language"


Chaimongkol Chalermsukjitsri
សមាគមខ្មែរស្រិន្ទ្រ
Center for Khmer Surin Studies (CKSS)
P.O.Box 27. Surin City, Thailand.
http://www.khmerinthailand.org
Email: cheymongkol@gmail.com; khmersurin@gmail.com
Phone 0875815514, 0881044474


https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=1424016

Grant will help save Cambodian musical heritage in Modesto

DEBBIE NODA/dnoda@modbee.com - Mao Roth, 57, plays a skor, Chhip Chhoun, 65,on the khhem, Muy Kim, 77, plays the tror. Chhoun and The Bridge, have won $40,000 grant to present free performances at the center.

DEBBIE NODA/dnoda@modbee.com - The Bridge Community Center. Chhip Chhoun and The Bridge, have won $40,000 grant to present free performances at the center.

DEBBIE NODA/dnoda@modbee.com - Chhip Chhoun, 65, holding a khhem, Muy Kim, 77, with the tror and Mao Roth, 57, with a skor, the instruments they play. Chhoun and The Bridge, have won $40,000 grant to present free performances at the center.

DEBBIE NODA/dnoda@modbee.com - Mao Roth, 57, plays a skor, Chhip Chhoun, 65,on the khhem. Chhoun and The Bridge, have won $40,000 grant to present free performances at the center.

Cambodian musicians in Modesto are determined not to let their musical traditions fade away.

Saturday, Oct. 15, 2011
By Lisa Millegan Renner
lrenner@modbee.com
Modesto Bee (California, USA)

They applied for and won a $40,000 grant from the Creative Work Fund to teach their art to youth.

Chhip Chhoun, 65, and other skilled performers will give free biweekly concerts beginning in January at The Bridge Community Center, a nonprofit facility in west Modesto that provides services to the Cambodian community. Some of the money will go to purchase traditional instruments for young people.

Speaking with the aid of an interpreter, Chhoun said he was happy to have the funding to help preserve an important cultural practice.

This year alone, four skilled Cambodian musicians in town have died, said Mao Roth, the interpreter, who works at The Bridge.

Sacrava's Political Cartoon: Sukumol Khunploem

Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://sacrava.blogspot.com)

19/08/2011
Kultida Samabuddhi
Bangkok Post

Mrs Sukumol made a good start when she dealt with the issue of Cambodia's listing of the Royal Ballet of Cambodia and the Sbek Thom Khmer shadow theatre on Unesco's list of intangible cultural heritage. She did not blindly switch into nationalistic mode when a forwarded email accusing Phnom Penh of "stealing the Thai heritage" was circulated. The minister explained that the listing had nothing to do with intellectual property or copyright issues and vowed to consult all relevant agencies about the matter before making any move. She also commented that "it is normal for countries in the same region to share similar cultural traits".

[Thai] Young culture minister has far to go

Sukumol Khunploem

19/08/2011
Kultida Samabuddhi
Bangkok Post

Mrs Sukumol made a good start when she dealt with the issue of Cambodia's listing of the Royal Ballet of Cambodia and the Sbek Thom Khmer shadow theatre on Unesco's list of intangible cultural heritage. She did not blindly switch into nationalistic mode when a forwarded email accusing Phnom Penh of "stealing the Thai heritage" was circulated. The minister explained that the listing had nothing to do with intellectual property or copyright issues and vowed to consult all relevant agencies about the matter before making any move. She also commented that "it is normal for countries in the same region to share similar cultural traits".

Of the four women in the Yingluck 1 cabinet, Sukumol Khunploem catches my attention most. The 36-year-old minister is the youngest in the 36-member cabinet and also the youngest minister in the history of the eight-year-old Culture Ministry.

She is a first-time MP from the newly established Phalang Chon Party, which competed in the general election for the first time on July 3. The wife of banned politician Sonthaya Khunploem won over 32,000 votes in Chon Buri's constituency 6 and jumped to the top job at the ministry shortly after Phalang Chon agreed to join the Pheu Thai Party-led government.

There is no need to discuss why the mother of four who graduated from Assumption University's School of Management, has taken the helm at the ministry despite the lack of concrete experience and knowledge of cultural issues. It has been widely known that the cabinet is a product of political negotiation and benefit-sharing among coalition parties. Mrs Sukumol's roles as member of the Chon Buri Red Cross Society and the Saensuk Women's Club, as well as adviser to Pattaya City's strategic committee, will not help her much.

Cambodia and Thailand in hand gesture dispute

August 18, 2011
ABC Radio Australia

Thailand's new culture minister says her first priority in office will be to reclaim cultural recognition ownership of a graceful hand position called the 'jeeb'

In 2008, Cambodia registered shadow theatre on the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, and the list included the hand gesture in question.

Presenter: Liam Cochrane

Speaker: Professor Supote Prasertsri, an adviser to various cultural and academic groups in both Thailand and Cambodia

Click here to listen to the audio program (Windows Media)

PRASERTSRI: From the Cambodian side it's very old, I mean as you know the Cambodian civilisation started in the 4th century AD, and reached its highest stage about 12th century, a lot of carving temples, stone temples, bas relief, you can see now both in I would call, in ancient Khmer empire. Now you can see in Thailand and Cambodia a lot of hand gestures, many kinds of hand gestures.

COCHRANE: And what does the inclusion of this gesture on the UNESCO list, what does that actually mean?

PRASERTSRI: Well first I would like to invite everyone to look at UNESCO website and select culture, and go to the world heritage, you will see currently there are 136 members belonging to the Intangible Heritage Committee, and the hand gesture

COCHRANE: I believe Cambodia is a member but Thailand is not, is that correct?

‘Gods of Angkor’ Exhibit Bids America Goodbye

A Cambodian bronze sculpture from the Angkorian period is among the collection of Khmer artifacts on display in Washington, DC and Los Angeles for over one year.

Wednesday, 17 August 2011
Cheang Sophinarath, VOA Khmer | Los Angeles, California

[It's important for students] “to recognize how important Angkor Wat is to the art history and the culture of Cambodia.”

It ran for more than a year, a collection of Cambodian bronze sculptures from the Angkorian period. On loan from the National Museum of Cambodia, the collection drew thousands of museum-goers, first to the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery at the Smithsonian in Washington, and more recently at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, Calif.

But now the exhibit is on its way home, its run at the Getty having ended Aug. 14.

 

The project began with talks between the Smithsonian and the National Museum of Cambodia, said Jeffery Weaver, associate curator of sculptures and decorative arts at the Getty. That led to a Getty foundation grant to train conservators for the sculptures in Camboida, but went further when organizers decided to highlight the bronzes in the US.

Statement of Cambodia's min. of Culture and Fine Arts on "Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in Cambodia"

Cambodia dances to a new rhythm

Cambodia is best known by travellers for Angkor Wat and the Killing Fields - but the country is also looking forward.

There has been a revival of traditional and contemporary arts across the country and Phnom Penh has become a hotbed of creativity and young talent. Michelle Jana Chan travelled to the capital to look at this resurgence.

Click here to watch this video online

Judith Hamera: "An Answerability of Memory: "Saving" Khmer Classical Dance"

Judith Hamera: "An Answerability of Memory: "Saving" Khmer Classical Dance"
http://www.scribd.com/fullscreen/61495714?access_key=key-28nytx36xpfto440y5k9

Preah Vihear is not Hindu temple, but K-H-M-E-R

Why not declare Preah Vihear Hindu territory?

July 3, 2011
Letter to The Nation

There is a solution to the Thai-Cambodian conflict over the Phra Viharn/Preah Vihear temple that is so simple I am surprised nobody but me has thought of it.

I understand it, this is a Hindu temple. To me it is very weird for Buddhists to be fighting over a Hindu temple. Especially since Buddhists aren't supposed to fight at all. [KI-Media Note: The author of this ludicrous letter should learn more about Cambodia, Preah Vihear temple is not Hindu, but Khmer. It was built by Khmer ancestors before Siam even existed on the earth.]

If it's a Hindu temple, the Hindus should be running it. The Thais and Cambodians should ask the Indian government to send over some qualified Hindu priests to take charge of it. The temple and the disputed territory that surrounds it could be turned into an independent country - a theocratic mini-state, like Vatican City. They could call it Viharnia (in Thai), or Vihearnia (in Cambodian). The priests would administer it, and charge admission to the tourists.

To compensate the Thai and Cambodian governments for their loss of sovereignty, Viharnia would give them a percentage of its tourism income. Part of the revenue derived from tourists who drive in from the Thai side would go to Thailand. Part of the revenue derived from those adventurous tourists who climb up the cliff from the Cambodian side would go to Cambodia.

Hope with Cambodian dance revival

(Photo: The West Australian)

May 20, 2011
MARGARET TURTON
The West Australian

After seeing the Cambodian classical dance troupe perform in France in 1906, sculptor Auguste Rodin announced: "These Cambodian women have given us everything antiquity could hold. It's impossible to see human nature reaching such perfection."

Seven decades later, Khmer Rouge dictator Pol Pot all but destroyed this ancient art form - eliminating dancers and musicians, along with tens of thousands of citizens who were led to the Killing Fields, later portrayed so graphically in the film of that name.

After Pol Pot's demise, efforts by the daughter of former King Norodom Sihanouk saw this art form enjoy a huge revival. It had always been linked to the royal court, which in turn was strongly tied to the French.

Khmer Surin Associatio​n Newsletter April 2011

Khmer Surin Associatio​n Newsletter April 2011
http://www.scribd.com/full/53320550?access_key=key-tc0qiiqhywlzjkxnbg8

Khmer Grammar - Op-Ed by B. Boy

Khmer Grammar - Op-Ed by B. Boy
http://www.scribd.com/full/52867885?access_key=key-26ljpelxp65rlcyqmewp

Power and Pragmatism in the Political Economy of Angkor - PhD Thesis by Eileen Lustig

POWER_AND_PRAGMATISM_IN_THE_POLITICAL_ECONOMY_OF_ANGKOR
http://www.scribd.com/full/52453830?access_key=key-vapi0vkwbz0mfj6i197

Long Beach Cambodians by Hundreds Visit the Getty

These young ladies are all smiles as they joined an estimated 400 people who boarded 5 school buses outside the Mark Twain Library for Getaway Day at the Getty Museum to see a special exhibit on Khmer. (Credit Daniel deBoom)

An estimated 400 people climbed aboard 5 school buses outside the Mark Twain Library for Getaway Day at the Getty Museum to see a special exhibit on Khmer. (Credit Daniel deBoom)

An estimated 400 people boarded 5 school buses outside the Mark Twain Library in the Cambodian Town community for Getaway Day at the Getty Museum to see a special exhibit on Khmer. (Credit Daniel deBoom)

The museum, with the United Cambodian Community, helped bus refugees to visit special Khmer exhibit Saturday.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

By Jeff Rabin

Belmont Patch (California, USA)

Several hundred members of the Long Beach Cambodian community rode buses and carpooled Saturday to the Getty Museum for a special tour of the exhibition: "Gods of Angkor: Bronzes from the National Museum of Cambodia."

The Getty, working with the Long Beach Public Library, arranged for the buses to take community members from the Mark Twain Library in the heart of the Cambodian community, to the museum in West Los Angeles. The library, the newest branch in Long Beach, has one of the largest collections of Khmer language books outside of Cambodia. Long Beach has the largest population of Cambodians outside of Southeast Asia.

Sereivuth Prak, a long-time leader of the Cambodian community, was thrilled that the Getty sent buses to take Long Beach residents to the exhibition. "It's a great honor for us," Prak said. "It makes us feel proud."

Khmer Sculptures (in French) - Scupltures Khmères

KI-Media would like to thank Lok Bora Touch, Esq. for sharing this document.

Khmer Sculptures (in French) - Scupltures Khmères
http://www.scribd.com/full/51584571?access_key=key-1wl5fqbfojzff8gmy5y

Surin's Thong Ploy Music: Chapei and Mahori

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqiyHqkAV3U


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOYV-zt7cS4&feature=related

"Kamay" in Khmer of Khmer in Northern Thailand by Bauer 1986

"Kmey" in central khmer or rather monosyllabilized "kamay" in Khmer of Khmer in Northern Thailand. Thai shortened to "may".. as may chai, not true.

"May tam ngan" is all from khmer word "kmay thveur ngear", not doing work (not working, unemployed).

"a min kmey" You useless. Kmey still in use in central khmer, Mr. Bauer.

Regards

Bora Touch

Northern Khmer (of Thailand) by Christian Bauer

A small Cambodian bronze exhibit at Getty is rich with meaning

Unknown Ganesha, 13th century Cambodian. (The J. Paul Getty Trust)

The 'Gods of Angkor' show of Hindu and Buddhist statuary and ritual objects is of great cultural importance.

February 20, 2011

By Suzanne Muchnic, Special to the Los Angeles Times

KI-Media Note: In you live in the Los Angeles basin area, you should try to visit this exhibit because admission to the Getty Museum and to all the exhibitions is FREE—no tickets or reservations are required for general admission. Therefore, we encourage all of you to take your children and loved ones to visit this exhibit of Khmer heritage.

For further information about the Getty Museum, click here

Thank you!

In numerical terms, "Gods of Angkor: Bronzes from the National Museum of Cambodia" — opening Feb. 22 at the J. Paul Getty Museum — is a small exhibition. It consists of a mere 26 sculptural objects, about 4 inches to 40 inches tall, displayed in a single gallery.

But the cultural significance of the show is beyond measure. The selection of Hindu and Buddhist statuary and ritual objects includes some of the finest examples of historical Cambodian bronze work at the nation's primary art museum in Phnom Penh.

Elegantly refined and intricately detailed, the sculptures include a 10th-century likeness of Maitreya, a Buddha-to-be with eight arms, a lustrous patina and eyes of silver foil and black stone. A triad of figures made in the late 12th or early 13th century features a Buddha seated on a serpent coiled into a chair, with human embodiments of compassion and wisdom at his sides.